The Review

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (IL-14) today released the following statement after introducing legislation to ensure that entities such as farmer cooperatives, utilities, and public power authorities are exempt from regulations included in the Dodd-Frank Act passed by the last Congress. Rep. Hultgren’s bill, the Protecting Main Street End-Users From Excessive Regulation Act, introduced with bipartisan support, narrows the Dodd-Frank definition of a “swap dealer” to ensure that Congressional intent is realized and that costly and burdensome regulations intended for the largest financial institutions are not imposed on hundreds of end-users.

Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka on Wednesday released the following statement in response to General Assembly discussion of a tax package aimed at assisting employers and residents in need:

“As members of the General Assembly consider moving forward with a proposed tax package for employers and low-income residents, I encourage them to add an item to the discussion: revenue. At minimum, any tax package being considered would total $250 million annually, and that’s on top of already-growing state liabilities. Those escalating costs cannot just be ignored.

Circuit Judge Stephen McGlynn announced his candidacy for a seat on the Appellate Court in Illinois' 5th District. The district is made up of the southern 37 counties of Illinois. McGlynn was appointed to his current seat in the 20th Judicial Circuit by a unanimous vote of the Supreme Court of Illinois after recommendation by a bipartisan merit panel. He had previously served on the Appellate Court by appointment with a unanimous vote of the Supreme Court in 2005.

"I love being a judge because it has allowed me to help so many people from so many different walks of life throughout Southern Illinois," McGlynn said. "I believe justice is the foundation of a healthy community. If people feel they can't get a fair shake, they begin to have contempt for the law in general. When companies feel they can't get a fair shake they take their business -and the jobs they create -somewhere else."

It's no longer a crime to be caught smoking pot in Evanston, Illinois, just north of Chicago. Monday night the city council unanimously decriminalized cannabis possession. Now if caught with small amounts of pot, offenders will only get fined, similar to speeding offenses.

If a person is found in possession of 10 grams or less of marijuana, police can fine him or her $50 to $500. Before, if a person possessed between 2.5 and 10 grams, one would face six months in jail and/or up to a $1,500 fine. Evanston's mayor said decriminalizes pot will increase employment in the area.

CHICAGO - Today, Rep. Peter Roskam (IL-06) hosted the Exports Mean Jobs Forum in Chicago for over 100 area business people. Participants heard featured remarks about the value of trade and specifically the three new pro-export trade agreements from Rep. Roskam, House Majority Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy (CA-22), Rep. Bob Dold (IL-10), and Tom Downey, Senior Vice President of Communications, The Boeing Company. The event was held at the Illinois Institute of Technology's Stuart School of Business.

Congressman Joe Walsh (IL-8) recently introduced the ‘Dairy Deregulation Act’ to phase out the government's milk price setting regime, called the "Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMO)". This program was established in pre-refrigeration 1937 to guarantee that there were no shortages of milk across the country. Today 74 years later, milk is the only major agricultural product with government-mandated prices that differ according to product use.

Walsh stated: “Most taxpayers are unaware that they are paying for their milk twice. Currently American families are taxed to pay for a federal program that directly increases the cost of their milk. This is outrageous. Innocent taxpayers are being taken advantage of on a daily basis by another out-dated, pointless government program.

"We're at a temporary impasse," State Rep. John Bradley (D) told Illinois House colleagues Tuesday night concerning a deal providing tax breaks to keep the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Sears from leaving the area. Bradley went on to say the Illinois House overwhelmingly rejecting the Senate's version of the CME/Sears deal would likely not be settled until after the first of the year.

CME and Sears have threatened to decide whether to bite the bullet of the higher corporate taxes the Illinois legislature passed last January or accept alluring offers from neighboring states.

Chances are one in 10 that you watched the Republican presidential debate last week in Washington, D.C., where the eight candidates responded to audience questions about foreign policy and homeland security.

I was fortunate enough to watch the debate, sitting among Capitol-covering media. To my right, an Associated Press reporter submitted stories, and to my left, a Talking Points Memo staffer blogged.

Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI,) was joined today by Caleb Hanie of the Chicago Bears Football Club in unveiling a new digital version of the paper child ID kit as distributed by the National Child ID Program (NCIDP).

It is gratifying to see President Barack Obama condemn the disgraceful storming of the British Embassy in Tehran by thugs acting at the behest of the Iranian regime. After all, Obama has been notoriously slow in the past to criticise the brutal actions of the Iranian government after initially extending the hand of friendship to it. But did he really need to make another embarrassing foreign policy gaffe while doing so?

In a press conference this evening, the president referred in stumbling fashion to the “English Embassy” in Iran instead of the British Embassy. One can only imagine the kind of howls of derision that would greet any presidential contender if that kind of basic error were made before, say, the editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. You can watch the video above.

UPDATE 11/30/2011 - on Tenaska vote: The passage of Senate President John Cullerton's SB 678, which was the third try on the Tenaska coal plant legislation some are calling a "boondoggle," was dependent upon three downstate Republican senators - Larry Bomke, John Jones and Sam McCann. Eight Democrats voted against their leader's legislation - J. Collins, Delgado, Garrett, Haine, E.Jones, Lightford, Maloney and Martinez.

SPRINGFIELD - The controversial Tenaska project tax credit legislation passed the Illinois Senate this afternoon without a vote to spare. Illinois Statehouse News was on hand to video the vote:

ROCKFORD -- This week, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) delivered an early Christmas present for many unborn infants in Northern Illinois, when an Administrative Law Judge ruled that the suspension of the license of Rockford, Illinois' notorious abortion provider, the Northern Illinois Women's Center (NIWC), would be extended until January 4, 2012, when a formal public hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the Michael Bilandic State of Illinois Building, at 160 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois, Room N502, on the 5th Floor.

The Judge announced her ruling during a teleconference Monday, when IDPH prosecuting attorney, Eva Bylerly, Esq., advised the Judge that "two to three issues remained unresolved" during ongoing settlement negotiations she had been pursuing with Harold Hirshman, Esq., attorney for NIWC, over a series of charges that IDPH had brought against NIWC in the wake of public health inspections, which NIWC failed, triggering the suspension of its license earlier this year.

Michelle Malkin reported yesterday that based on the Obama administration’s latest document dump of visitor logs, convicted fraudster, community organizer, and Chicagoan Robert Creamer has visited the White House sixty times since January 2009–five times in August 2011 alone.

First reported at Big Government, Creamer is the apparent architect of the Democrats’ political strategy for imposing Obamacare on the nation, composing a “blueprint” – that was later endorsed by high-level Obama advisers – while he was in federal prison. Creamer also claims to have been “one of the major architects of the successful 2005 campaign to defeat the Bush plan to privatize of Social Security.”

How much will LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) rights effect the GOP's 2012 presidential nomination? Most pundits say social issues are passe' in 2012, but that's not the case, according to the gay publication Washington Blade. This week, a Florida congresswoman's endorsement of former Governor Mitt Romney led to an eye-opening piece in the Blade:

CARLINVILLE - So if you're a Macoupin County Democrat and have a few too many drinks, mouth off with racial epithets, suddenly retire from the Governor's security detail, the next thing to do is run for coroner? From S-JR.com:

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Department of Revenue notified Illinois storeowners in mid-November that they'll need to make adjustments to their cash registers in computing hikes in sales taxes beginning January 1, 2012. Of all the changes listed in municipalities and counties, only one was a tax cut - the .25 percent in Cook County. The rest of the hikes vary between .25 and 1.50 percent.

On January 1 when the area's new .25 percent increase goes into effect, three business districts in St. Clair County's Belleville will hoist the highest sales tax in the state outside Cook County - 9.10 percent.

The biggest sales tax increase to hit storeowners on January 1 will be those in Williamson County's Johnston City. There sales tax will increase by 1.5 percent, bringing it up to 8.75.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Tuesday afternoon, the Illinois House held a heated discussion on Democrat Rep. LaShawn Ford'sResolution 610, which would have honored the Occupy Chicago "movement". Members from both sides of the aisle rejected the last-minute effort, Ford's second attempt at promoting the effort. Earlier in the session Ford called for a moment of silence to support the Occupy Wall Street movement.

During the discussion, State Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Park Ridge) said constituents have told her they're afraid to go downtown to see the Christmas parade because of Occupy Chicago. "These people should not be honored on the Illinois House floor," she said.

Rep. Ed Sullivan (R) pointed to HR 610's Line 19, which he said, says the Occupiers are "lawfully protesting" Wall Street. Sullivan said, "Do you recognize the violence, the crime at these protests? This protest movement is un-American. If you don't believe in capitalism, then vote for this. I will not stand for it."

HB3813 prohibits public employees from earning public pensions while on union leaves of absence

(Springfield) Working with members of both the House and Senate, Leader Cross’ bill aimed at attacking pension abuses heads to the Governor’s desk with near unanimous approval today.

“The Chicago Tribune, WGN-TV and other media outlets exposed gross abuses in some of the state’s pension funds and systems—and we worked hard to fix those past problems and prevent them in the future,” said Cross. “This legislation protects the taxpayers who are helping to fund the pension funds and ultimately those who deserve a fair pension.” If Governor Quinn signs this legislation, several areas of the pension code will be changed:

Mr. Khan began working for Flex-N-Gate Corporation in 1970 while he was an engineering student in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He left the company in 1978 to start a new venture: designing and building bumpers with an innovative design—a lightweight, continuous piece of metal with no seams to corrode or rust. This entrepreneurial venture, which began as a one-man, one-garage, one-press operation, created a product that is today considered to be the industry design standard. Mr. Khan purchased Flex-N-Gate in 1980, and under his leadership, it has grown to a $2 billion global auto parts manufacturer with 13,000 employees.

Not only is Mr. Khan interested in football, he's interested in Illinois' blood sport - politics.

Last summer, we saw a great groundswell of national support to get our fiscal house in order by cutting and capping federal spending and passing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. However, the President refused to lead and instead pushed the tough decisions to a bureaucratic Washington committee to solve the problem, and though it was named the “Supercommittee” it couldn't even agree on cutting Post-It Notes from the office supply closet. Now, because of the inaction, we are faced with drastic defense cuts at a time when reports show a nuclear Iran has emerged as a clear and present danger.

I supported the “Cut, Cap, and Balance” movement, but the reality is that what we really need is “Balance, Balance, Grow” — because without a balanced budget amendment, and a path to economic prosperity, we cannot ever trust the government to actively try and balance the federal budget.

Rep. Barney Frank will be remembered for three things: First, he was not only the first openly gay member of Congress but the first involved in a gay-prostitution scandal. Second, he said, “I do not want the same kind of focus on safety and soundness” regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as exercised with regard to other government-affiliated agencies, preferring, as he memorably put it, to “roll the dice a little bit.” Third, he was co-author of the Frank-Dodd financial-reform legislation. Which is to say, Representative Frank will be remembered as an embarrassment, a reckless gambler, and a legislative malefactor.

Last night, supporters of the the Homer/Lockport Tea Party received the following tongue-in-cheek email from their co-ordinator Vivienne Porter. The headline read: "I too had a Consensual Affair with Herman Cain."

Dear Members of the Homer/Lockport Tea Party:

In light of today's news it is time that I too come clean on a "Consensual Affair" that I have been having with Herman Cain. I know that Herman loves me because the Cain campaign has been sending me many unsolicited and compelling letters for months. And in the interest of trying to preserve my virtue, I have saved every one of them, along with my cancelled checks, as proof of Herman's unrelenting, deliberate quest to breed temptation in a vulnerable tea partier's heart. Herman's astute, entrepreneurial prowess enabled him to detect my hyper-loathing of Obama and capitalize on my state of weakness. Oh Herman, honey you had me at 9-9-9.

Tom Paine was an Englishman who came to America just before the revolution. He is sometimes called "the forgotten founder" because he was not a member of Congress or the Army. But his pamphlet called Common Sense was either read by, or read aloud to. almost a third of the people in the 13 colonies. John Adams summed up the importance that pamphlet in the birth of America. "Without the pen of Tom Paine, the sword of George Washington could not have been victorious."

“The Illinois House is expected to vote today on legislation that would eject two Illinois Federation of Teachers lobbyists from the Teachers’ Retirement System. The two qualified for TRS pensions after spending only a single day each as substitute teachers in the Springfield School District…The bill has already passed the Senate and would go to Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk if it passes the House.”

Since many conservative state lawmakers keep an eye on Illinois Review while they're waiting for action on the chamber floors, why not give them something to read - directly from the people they're representing.

Lawmakers will be in Springfield today for one, or possibly two, days in order to see if they can settle three hot major issues - the CME/Sears tax deal, the staggering pension collapse, and another gambling expansion.

If you could get to the Capitol today, what would you tell your state representatives and senators?

In the time lapse between the presidential debate of Tuesday, November 22, sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute with Wolf Blitzer as the debate moderator, only now do I have time to consider and arrive at a reasoned response to Newt's proposal about dealing with illegal immigration in regard to this question directed to Gingrich by Blitzer:

"Speaker Gingrich, let me let you broaden out this conversation. Back in the '80 -- and you remember this well, I was covering you then. Ronald Reagan and you -- you voted for legislation that had a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, as you well remember. There were, what, maybe 12 million, 10 million -- 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States right now. Some called it amnesty then, they still call it amnesty now. What would you do if you were President of the United States, with these millions of illegal immigrants, many of whom have been in this country for a long time?"

Such budget shall be prepared by some person or persons designated by the county board and such budget shall be made conveniently available to public inspection for at least fifteen days prior to final action thereon. (55 ILCS 5/6‑1001) (from Ch. 34, par. 6‑1001)

“The county board is not giving the legally required 15 days for public viewing nor have they made it conveniently available. The first four days after the budget was tentatively approved, the court house was closed and the budget wasn’t put on the website until late Monday, November 28 – 5 days after the tentative approval. Furthermore, in order to obtain a copy of the budget, the County Clerk’s office is charging 50 cents per page for a total of $50+ for the 100-page document. This lack of convenience and shortened viewing period seems to be illegal,” said prospective Williamson County Commissioner candidate Jeffrey Isbell.

COLORADO SPRINGS -- For most of the year, Seoul USA undertakes the dangerous work of launching balloons into North Korea containing religious materials, practical necessities and news of the outside world. But this Christmas Eve, the organization will launch a very different payload into the world's most closed country:

Peeps.

Seoul USA is preparing thousands of the popular marshmallow stars, Christmas trees, and reindeer to infiltrate North Korea via the organization's giant weather balloon-style balloons. The balloons are launched from secret locations on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone.

The Illinois Conservatives organization is proud to announce their first endorsement for the 2012 elections, Jason Plummer for the 12th Congressional District. Plummer, the 2010 Republican Nominee for Lt Governor, resides in O'Fallon.

Plummer, a small businessman and Intelligence Officer in the Navy Reserves, says he promises to bring common sense values back to Washington, DC when elected.

"We've always had a strong relationship with Jason, the entire leadership board agrees that he fits our group perfectly. We pride ourselves on getting young conservatives engaged in politics and Jason is a prime example of what success looks like for young people in politics," said President of the Illinois Conservatives, Zach Oltmanns.

CHICAGO - "The few, the proud, Occupy Chicago," conservative vlogger Marathon Pundit narrates on a video of Occupy Chicago's publicized solidarity march with Occupy LA planned for Monday night downtown. Only 25 people showed up, and the march was cancelled. Apparently, 99 percenters are fading in their commitment to their cause to save themselves and the rest of us.

Or maybe Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's refusal to let them set up camp, unlike mayors in other cities did, prevented Occupy Chicago from reaching its full potential. Or maybe nighttime temps dipping into the 20s with 20 mph winds and rain helped, too.

Walsh met with an aspiring GOP candidate in the 8th district, DuPage County Superintendent of Education Darlene Ruscitti, this afternoon and told her he planned to run there instead, according to a source with knowledge of the encounter.

Walsh’s chief of staff, Justin Roth, would not confirm whether Walsh would switch races to mount an uphill battle in the redrawn, likely Democratic 8th district. But a Walsh switch would relieve Republicans of a major primary battle in the 14th district, a safe GOP seat west of Chicago.

UPDATE: New Republican primaries appear on Illinois State Board of Elections' website ...

Besides the 3-way GOP primary in Sam McCann's Senate district and the 33rd State Senate district between Karen McConnaughay and Cliff Surges, more GOP State Senate primary races are popping up as candidate petitions are submitted on the first day of filing. In Will County's 49th Senate District, there's a 3-way primary:

As discussed previously on IR, there's a GOP primary in the 51st State Senate District:

In the 53rd State Senate District, freshman State Rep. Jason Barickman (R-Champaign), who was appointed to fill State Senator Shane Cultra's (R-Onarga) House seat when Cultra moved to the Senate, is now challenging Barickman's predecessor for his Senate seat.

Even Superman couldn’t subtract $1.2 trillion from the budget gap by adding the $300 billion in spending required to restore a scheduled 27% pay cut to physicians. Now the cut may be 29% because of automatic sequestration, the default option if the Super Committee failed. Will your doctor still be there for you if this happens?

SPRINGFIELD, IL- Karen McConnaughay today filed petitions to be placed on the ballot for the Republican nomination for the Illinois State Senate in the newly created 33rd District, which includes much of northern Kane and southeastern McHenry Counties.

McConnaughay, currently the Chairman of the Kane County Board, filed more than twice the required signatures to qualify for the ballot and obtained signatures from voters in all of the District's 11 townships. "The response was very heartening," said McConnaughay. "Voters in Kane County were very supportive and appreciated our efforts to cut spending and reduce government headcount, and voters in McHenry were very enthusiastic about my plans to attack wasteful spending at the state level."

ROCKFORD - Rockford's abortion clinic that was shut down in September for regulation offenses, will remain closed at least until January 2012. WIFR.com reports:

The state health department issued an emergency license suspension in September, fining the clinic $15,000. The department's suspension notice said center doctors didn't have surgery privileges at an Illinois licensed hospital and the center lacked an experienced operating room nurse.

Today in court, the two parties asked for more time to reach a settlement.

But Monday, attorneys for the Northern Illinois Women's Center and the Illinois Department of Health are still trying to reach a settlement. The state suspended the facility's license in September, calling its conditions a direct threat to the public. They'll be back in court on Jan. 4.

"I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground that 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or to the people.' To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, not longer susceptible of any definition." --Thomas Jefferson, Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank, 1791

When Chicago-native Justice John Paul Stevens retired from the U.S. Supreme Court on July 29, 2010 after 35 years of service, he was the oldest justice at age 90 and the third longest-serving justice in the history of the court. Although he was appointed by a Republican president, Gerald R. Ford in 1975, he may never really have been a Republican at all and he surely voted almost always with the liberal wing of the court.

CHICAGO - First Lady Michelle Obama will be joined by Vice President Joe Biden and his wife in Chicago this morning to honor Chicago's former First Lady Maggie Daley. Mrs. Daley passed away Thanksgiving after battling cancer for years. During Sunday's wake, she was mourned by thousands of Chicagoans.

Mrs. Daley's funeral will be held Monday morning at Old St. Patrick's in Chicago, and the service will be carried live on WGN and at WGNTV.com.

“House Democrats on Sunday offered a...$250 million-a-year, tax-break package designed to keep Chicago’s two financial exchanges and Sears Holdings Corp. from moving out of Illinois. The package would provide approximately $100 million in combined tax relief annually for CME Group Inc., and Sears Holdings Corp…It also proposes new tax credits for Chicago’s theater scene.”

Five-term state Representative Chapin Rose's (R-Mahomet) planned move to the Illinois Senate won't go unchallenged in the 2012 GOP primary. He has at least one opponent for the 51st State Senate district that filed Monday morning - Tom Pliura of Ellsworth. Pliura is listed as an attorney and owner of Outlaw Outfitters Riding Stables at Dawson Lake.